A first edition copy of Bram Stoker's Dracula, inscribed by the author to the Bishop of Ripon, fetched more than £16,000 at Sotherby's today.
The book given by Stoker to the Right Rev William Boyd Carpenter on publication in 1897, fetched £ 16,730 at Sotheby's in London.
Dublin-born Stoker took seven years to complete the story of the blood-sucking Transylvanian count who swapped his remote ancestral castle to stalk the streets of gas-lit London.
The presentation copy of the world's most famous horror story bears the legend in the author's hand: "The Right Rev The Lord Bishop of Ripon from Bram Stoker 31 July 1897."
The Bishop (1841-1918) was a prolific writer and also a lover of drama. Stoker was well acquainted with the Bishop's diocese in North Yorkshire, where he wrote part of Dracula. The book, which had been estimated to realise £ 7000 - £10,000 - was bought by a private collector.
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